Atopic dermatitis & Patella femoral pain syndrome

You probably read the blog post title and thought you came to the wrong blog. Nope it's the Spence Ohana that are dealing with these medical issues!

So James has been having a really rough week. Poor baby has not been himself, is really irritable and cutting SO many teeth! The end of last week he ran a fever for 2 days, I dismissed it to teething. He was whiny and crying ALL weekend long...again teething right!? Then Sunday he starts itching his inner elbows and gets this funky rash...okay can't blame teething on that one, maybe heat rash? I basically self medicated the boy with Tylenol, Ibuprofen and Benadryl all weekend to ease any of his pain (and mine too!). But his rash got worse over the last 24 hours, now on his legs, neck and this morning on his face. So I called the pediatrician and spoke with the nurse. At first she suspected Roseola, but was a little skeptical it was that since James was itching and irritable (I guess kids that get Roseola aren't itchy). So she told me to bring him in this afternoon.

Well thankfully Dr. Gettman said it was not Roseola, but actually James had Eczema! Now I dealt with mild out breaks of Eczema when Madeline and James were babies, but never covering this much skin. Both kids have always had really beautiful, soft, smooth skin. Anyhow I circled all the areas in these photos of James to point out where he has it.

Dr. Gettman says it's Atopic Dermatitis. And although they can't pinpoint what causes this, could be the weather, allergies, etc. they do know how to treat it and help it go away. So he prescribed James a medicated cream. Should subside in a few days.

So when we got home tonight I bathed him using some Cetaphil soap, moisturized him with Cetaphil and put the medicated cream on the affected areas. Oh and I also gave him some Benadryl. He's sleeping sound now, hope he (and I) get a good night's rest!

On to the next medical issue. I personally have been dealing with chronic knee pain (in both my knees) for what seems like several months now! I have pain in the front of the knee, around and beneath the knee cap. This pain occurs every time I stand or sit, or bend my knees more than 90 degrees while sitting or laying down. It's gotten very excruciating, especially when I need to stand up and I am holding James, tears almost start flowing because the pain is that bad. So I've consulted with 2 very good Physical Therapists, Stephen's Uncle Kevin, and Stephen's best friend Jon. I may have what's called Patello-Femoral Syndrome which I guess is common in adolescents, young adults and athletes. Anyhow both Uncle Kevin and Jon suggested doing exercises to strengthen my muscles, mainly my quadriceps. I guess these muscles hook into the kneecap. So that's my goal this week, to diligently start doing these exercises. I'm praying they help subside the pain and get my knees in better shape.

*Sorry no photos of my ugly knees. ;-)